Friday 26 July

A very strange day, weatherwise. Although we started off with good sunshine, some enormous cumulonimbus showerclouds built during lunchtime. Just after two, a chilly downdraft heralded the arrival of a thunderstorm. That's an unusual occurrence in these islands, and something to be dreaded in summer. The Met Office rainfall radar showed very heavy rainfall, with large hail reported from Achmore and a tornado at Laxay, and another at Callanish. That's what I mean by to be dreaded. No damage was reported from the tornado; its remnant could be seen from my position, dissipating under a very large cumulonimbus slowly moving northwest, to the west of Stornoway.